Expanding protection for first responders in Great Falls

Three animal control officers and two traffic investigators receive their new body armor presented to them by the Exchange Club of Great Falls on Tuesday morning.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS)Buy Photo

The Great Falls Police Department employs three Animal Control officers and two accident investigators to serve the community. These men and women are not sworn police officers, so they were not issued bulletproof vests — until now.

On Tuesday, the five GFPD staffers unboxed their new body armor, which was gifted to the department by the Exchange Club of Great Falls.

In total, the vests carried a price tag of about $4,000. The GFPD participates in the U.S. Department of Justice Bulletproof Vest Partnership to cover about half the cost of body armor for the department’s sworn officers.

Like the officers patrolling the streets, the Animal Control officers and accident investigators find themselves in the middle of heated situations such as animal seizures or ill-timed car crashes.

“We deal with a lot of the same people the police officers deal with, just without the protection,” Animal Control Officer Kayla Wright said. “We’re responding because people have problems.”

The Exchange Club approached the GFPD about possible funding needs as part of the organization’s vision of “a strong America, safe communities and unified people.”

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Three animal control officers and two traffic investigators try on the new body armor presented to them by the Exchange Club of Great Falls on Tuesday morning.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS)

Karaffa said he and the other club members enjoyed seeing their donations given to the men and women who will be wearing the vests each day.

“It’s nice to know who they are,” he said, “and know when we see them out there to know they are protected.”

For Wright and her co-workers, the “unboxing” was a chance to show their gratitude in person.

“We just want to say ‘thank you,’” Wright said. “It’s been a long time coming. We feel a lot safer.”